Spots and Surfing conditions
Surfing in Zanzibar offers some great conditions for all levels. You find uncrowded and untouched surf spots along the southeast coast with mainly right hander waves.
The reef in Zanzibar is not as gnarly as some other tropical islands surfing spots. Its generally flat and rocky. Some surfing spots can be home to many sea urchins (spikey crustations you don’t want to stand on) but our beginner friendly spot is almost urchin free. Dolphins are seen regularly along the coastline and often join you for a surf session. Local fisherman often gather and watch the first surfers in Zanzibar as we discover new spots all around the island.
During the December to March season we do get anti- cyclones in the indian ocean which can send some proper ground swell our way, and that’s when all sorts of surf spots start working. Throw in an offshore day and we have surf breaks where you can trade stand up barrels with only a handful of surfers out.
Zanzibar is quite chancy for waves, so the knowledge of where to go is an essential. Swell and wind direction are vital to get any form of decent wave to surf as well as tides and moon faze. Different sections on the reef break on different conditions and some are really worth the boat trip out for a surfing session.
Surfing lessons and surf trips need to be well timed, as surfing in Zanzibar is limited to 1.5 - 3 hours of good surf a day. The reason being are the big tidal changes on the island. Surfing lessons need to be timed to the pushing mid tide to get the beginner surf spot working at its best. The more advanced surfing spots start to work with the last hour of the dropping tide and best over low tide and the first push after the tides change.